A/N: Yes, I am still alive. I took a two month break from this story so that I could come back to it refreshed. This is the beginning of the additional bonus chapters. However, I guess at this point you could say that it's Rivalry Part 2. There will be longer time jumps between chapters because most of the major story arcs have already been set up and just need to reach their conclusions one-by-one. There's over 50,000 words of new content coming. Expect lots of Tyriana & Julian romance, four great Quidditch matches (and the fate of the Quidditch Cup), some violence, and even more house rivalries. This particular chapter is a bit of filler but the rest won't be. Without further ado, let's get on with it.

Chapter 25

On the Hogwarts Express

January 5th, 2014

"Need a hand, Gallagher?"

Tyriana recognized the voice and a smile blossomed on her face. She gave up trying to put her luggage on the overhead rack in the Prefects' Carriage and turned to face him. "Hawkins." Her tone was light and playful as she briefly returned to using his last name for the sake of nostalgia.

"Tyriana." She loved the way her name rolled off his tongue. "Let's see if I can't give you the height you were so cruelly denied." His hands settled on her waist and he lifted her off the floor, bringing the overhead rack within her reach. She stowed her bag quickly.

"Thanks, Julian." He set her back down gently on the floor and she immediately got back up on her tippy-toes to give him an enthusiastic kiss. "I've missed you," she breathed.

"It's only been a week since I came by for dinner," he chuckled.

"Well, I've kinda grown used to living with you," she admitted. "I love it when we just spend time together."

"I love that too."

The floor lurched under their feet as the train began to move, catching both of them off-guard. Tyriana usually had the lower center of gravity but she was still on her tippy-toes. She tried to grab him for balance but ended up pulling him with her. Both fell to the floor in a tangle of limbs, already laughing at their own clumsiness.

"We're Seekers; we aren't comfortable on our feet," she quipped.

Thankfully, most of the prefects were waving to their families out the window and didn't notice. Tyriana and Julian scrambled to their feet, the former touching a finger to her lips as she met the eyes of the prefects who had witnessed the incident, all of whom were chuckling — except Caden. He was just staring, his expression unreadable.

Tyriana straightened her clothes and returned her attention to the other prefects. "Alright, everybody. Can I have your attention up here? Thank you. I hope you all had a great Christmas holiday. As usual, you are tasked with patrolling the train."

"Let's stagger the prefects out this time," Julian suggested. He pointed to those nearest the back of the carriage. "You four go first. The next few will follow in a minute or two."

Tyriana was more open in admiring Julian's leadership this time around. She stood back and let him do what he did best.

Ten minutes later, they were alone in the Prefects' Carriage. He glanced at her and met her gaze, his face breaking into a charming grin. "You need to stop being so cute."

Tyriana giggled. "We have a whole carriage to ourselves."

"We're not doing that here. What if we were caught? We'll have plenty of time to do that at Hogwarts. How about we go find some friends and sit with them? We can patrol later."

"Alright," she conceded, letting him take her hand and clear a path for her towards the back of the train. Finding a balance between her natural independence and his desire to pamper her was a fine line that they were still working out. Letting him forge through the hallway and make a path was a concession on her part but she knew that her innate stubbornness would balance the playing field shortly. They found Brielle, Siobhan, and Riley chatting in one compartment. "Let's join them," she suggested.

Julian opened the door and gestured for her to enter.

"Hey, girls!" Tyriana exclaimed, hugging Brielle and Siobhan. "Hi, Riley." She plopped herself down in an empty seat. Julian completed his greetings and sat next to her, slipping an arm around her waist in the process.

"How was your Christmas break?" Brielle asked Tyriana.

"Fantastic," she said. "Julian came over for dinner with my parents."

"I met her father face-to-face and lived to tell the tale," he quipped.

Everybody laughed.

"My dad looks like a bear but he's nice," Tyriana chuckled. "He was silently rooting for you. I think my parents are just excited to see me dating somebody."

"Same here," Brielle said.

Tyriana adopted a playful scowl. "You sound like Alara and Delaney. Speaking of them, where are they?"

"Alara's probably with her Asher." Siobhan used a mockingly swooning tone. Asher Morton was the name of Alara's Hufflepuff boyfriend.

"I saw Delaney on the platform earlier," Riley said. "She was with Jensen."

"Are they a thing?" Tyriana asked.

"Since when did gossip interest you?" Siobhan inquired.

Tyriana shrugged. "Since when I got bitten by the love bug."

"Argh! She's infected!" Julian exclaimed, throwing himself away from her and across the compartment in a mock escape attempt.

When Tyriana finally managed to somewhat rein in her giggling at his boyish antics, she patted the seat next to her that he had just vacated and applied her best pouty face. "Come back." The degree to which she'd mastered the expression never failed to internally alarm her, but she recognized its usefulness.

Julian feigned a torn expression. "Alright. But only because you're so adorable." Tyriana grinned as he returned to his seat next to her before playfully punching him in the arm. "Ow!"

"So your parents liked him?" Siobhan asked.

"I think they were singing his praises almost as loud as I do."

To his credit, Julian turned a little red. "There's no need to suck up to me."

Tyriana tried and failed to stifle her giggles. "I think that came out wrong. I thought you liked it when I did that."

Siobhan and Riley caught on and both burst into their own fits of laughter. That left Julian and Brielle looking at each other in confusion.

"What's so funny?"

Tyriana put her head in her hands, her shoulders shaking with mirth. "Nevermind. I'm not sure whether us three are too mature or too immature for our own good."

"Oh, I get it," Julian said suddenly, his cheeks flushing a bit.

Tyriana, Siobhan and Riley lost it again. Even Brielle, who somehow still hadn't caught on, managed a smile. "What's going on?"

"You're too innocent, Brielle," Tyriana gasped between fits of laughter. "I'm going to pull a tip from your book and tell you it's time to get a boyfriend."

Siobhan nodded in agreement.

Brielle pale skin turned a rosy shade of pink.

"Oh, I love it when the tables turn," Tyriana exclaimed happily. "Time to give you a taste of your own medicine."

"Who should we set her up with?" Siobhan wondered. "Alara or Delaney would know instantly who the right guy is."

Riley suddenly stood and slid into the seat next to Brielle. "How about me?"

Tyriana and Siobhan's jaws dropped. Even Julian looked stunned. Brielle looked like a deer in the headlights.

"Hey, Julian? Weren't you saying something about patrolling the train?" Tyriana asked, grinning mischievously.

"Yeah," he said, catching her meaning. "Let's go."

"Wait! Don't leave me—" Brielle started to protest.

"I'll let Siobhan arbitrate this one," Tyriana said, closing the door. She and Julian hardly made it a dozen feet down the hallway before they burst into laughter. "Did you see the look on her face?"

"She was shocked but she didn't seem upset," Julian chuckled.

"Your friend's got balls," Tyriana said. "He should be in Gryffindor."

"Surely you've learned by now that people can change after being Sorted."

"Of course I know that. You're such a Ravenclaw." She was silent for a moment. "So Brielle and Riley, Delaney and Jensen… Soon all my friends are going to be dating all your friends."

"I don't think Delaney and Jensen are together," he said slowly. "She's not his type."

"I suppose you're right. So why do they spend so much time together?"

"They could be friends. Or maybe there's benefits." He shrugged. "Who knows?"

"With Delaney you can bet on there being benefits," Tyriana said knowingly.

Julian stopped suddenly and pointed into one of the compartments. "That's something from Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. I'll confiscate it."

Tyriana waited while he weaseled his way into the crowded compartment. While he was inside, Tyriana spotted Zannah and the Turnbull sisters approaching.

Oh shit, she thought. Thankfully, they seemed just as surprised to see her as she was to see them. So they weren't planning to attack me, she concluded, her eyes not leaving them. Her fingers lingered over the familiar and reassuring shape of her wand in her pocket as she strategized. If they tried to hex her she'd use Protego and Expelliarmus. If they tried to beat her up again she'd use Immobulus before they got within arms' reach.

The Slytherins hesitated and exchanged glances. Zannah gave a jerk of her head in Tyriana's direction and she and the Turnbull sisters continued forward. Zannah didn't meet Tyriana's blistering gaze and instead kept her eyes on the floor in front of her. She seemed to make a conscious effort to signal that she was looking to pass, not attack, by walking as close to the opposite wall as possible so that there'd be plenty of room for them to avoid touching each other.

Zannah was trying so hard to avoid Tyriana that, just as she was passing, her blouse got caught in the hinge of one of the compartments' doors and ripped, revealing a lot more than Tyriana cared to see. Everyone froze.

The Head Girl reacted first. Unable to believe that she was doing this, Tyriana removed her coat and offered it to Zannah. The garment was a little small but it would be sufficient to get the Slytherin back to her own compartment where she could don her school robes as a more permanent solution.

Zannah hesitated, her eyes finally meeting Tyriana's. After a long stare she snatched the coat and hurried away. Tyriana shrunk back against the wall so that the massive bulk of each of the Turnbull sisters could squeeze past her.

Julian stepped out of the compartment behind her a few seconds after the Slytherins had disappeared down the corridor. He was holding a box of Canary Creams that he'd confiscated. "Where'd your coat go?"

"I gave it to Zannah. She tried to pass me in the hall but got her blouse stuck in a hinge and it ripped before she could stop. She wasn't wearing anything underneath so I gave her my coat."

Julian's mouth opened and closed a few times. He clearly wasn't sure exactly how to react. "That was nice of you," he finally said.

"Hopefully she gives it back," Tyriana said. "That was one of my favorite jackets."

"I'll give her hell if she doesn't give it back," Julian promised.

"Thanks. Let's go dispose of those Canary Creams."

Near the back of the train they encountered the immediate aftermath of a duel that had almost occurred before three prefects had interfered.

"Nice job, ladies and gentlemen," Tyriana said, patting her subordinates on the back. "No one gets hurt on our watch. Let's get these two students away from each other."

Another half hour had passed by the time she and Julian returned to the Prefect's Carriage.

"Hey, Tyriana?" a prefect named Grace called.

"Yeah?"

"A girl came by and left this for you." Grace held up Tyriana's coat.

"Thank you," Tyriana said, slipping her arms into it and sighing in relief as her body immediately began to warm up. Maybe Zannah's not so bad after all, she thought.

"You were cold this whole time?" Julian asked, seeming to have noticed her relief.

Tyriana nodded.

"You don't have to soldier through discomfort," he reminded her. "I would've gladly cast a heating charm on you or, better yet, wrapped you up in a bear hug." He demonstrated the latter by picking her up and squeezing tightly.

"Julian!" she cried, drawing the attention of all of the prefects in the carriage. Laughing, he returned her to the ground. Her tone serious, she continued, "I don't need to be pampered with heating spells."

"You're right," he said. "You don't need those things, but I want to give them to you. I want you to be comfortable and happy, Tyriana."

"I appreciate the gesture but feeling resilient is what makes me happy. I'm only vulnerable and needy when I want to be… or when I really can't handle something."

"Fair enough," he conceded. "That's quintessentially you. Just know that I'm always here for you when you need me."

She nodded. "I know. What do you think we should do next?"

Julian shrugged. "We could patrol some more… or we could go find some friends to sit with for a while."

"Why not both? Let's patrol until we see some people we want to sit with. Come on." This time Tyriana led the way towards the back of the train.

"This reminds me of the first day," Julian chuckled. "You still look like you're drowning amongst all of these taller people."

Tyriana grinned. "Of all the things you said that day that's the one that's stuck with me."

He laughed. "I'm proud of that line, too."

"The delivery was perfect, too." She sighed and brushed the memory aside. "I'm so glad you were able to get through all my bullshit."

"You didn't make it easy."

"I'm Tyriana Gallagher. Nothing can be easily done to me."

They chuckled. "You're a fun challenge," he said.

"I'm flattered."

They'd only walked for a few more seconds when a passing Slytherin muttered, "Traitor," in Julian's direction.

"Excuse me?"

"You're a fucking traitor, Hawkins," said the Slytherin in a louder voice, stopping and turning to face them. "Dating a Gryffindor Mudblood like that."

Julian's wand was out in an instant and Tyriana rushed to put a restraining hand on his shoulder. "Don't you ever talk to her that way," he growled at the Slytherin.

"Look at her, holding you back like that. Hex me! Come on! Do it! Why don't you, eh? Can't do it, eh? Don't have the balls? Is she making you weak?"

"Congratulations; you just bought yourself two weeks' detention," Tyriana interrupted, flashing her most intimidating glare. "It'll be three if you don't get out of my sight right now."

The Slytherin sauntered away and Julian lowered his wand. "He sounds like my father."

"All the more reason to get your Society up and running," she replied.

A/N: I still plan to go back and revise the earlier chapters in this story, the most notable changes being uncensoring the T-rated chapters. As for when this will happen I have no idea.